Two Westminster Physics Professors Presented Papers at Conference

Westminster College professors Dr. Craig Caylor, an assistant professor of physics, and Dr. Samuel Lightner, professor of physics, recently presented papers at the Western Pennsylvania section of the American Association of Physics Teachers Conference held at Edinboro.

 Lightner's presentation,"New Materials from the Contemporary Physics Education Project (CPEP)," featured the new teaching chart, "The History and Fate of the Universe," and provided the participants with information about a workshop for high school teachers for using this chart in the classroom.  He also talked about the CPEP's chart, "Fusion: Physics of a Fundamental Energy Source, The Standard Model of Fundamental Particles and Interactions, and Nuclear Science." 

 Caylor's presentation, "The Multiplicity of a Three-State System," compared the results obtained in a limited number of systems, such as the two-state systems, with a method that students can directly calculate the multiplicity of a three-state system.

 Lightner, who has been with Westminster College since 1970, earned his undergraduate degree from Randolph-Macon College, and his master's and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

 Caylor, who has been with Westminster College since 2001, earned his undergraduate degree from Kansas State University, and his master's and Ph.D. from Indiana University.

 For more information, contact Lightner at (724) 946-7204 or e-mail lightner@westminster.edu or Caylor at (724) 946-7202 or e-mail caylorcl@westminster.edu.

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